Missing Clive’s Antics
It’s been over a year now since we all lost a valuable friend. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think of something funny Clive said/did, a site he would have hated/loved, a new technology he would have ranted/raved about. Clive was more tied into the interactive community than most of us combined. It seemed as though I didn’t need to go through my RSS feeds every morning to stay on top of things, I’d just stop by his desk and ask what’s new.
I saw this site yesterday and thought of Clive: http://www.booneoakley.com/. They’ve created their entire site using YouTube. I know Clive would have read about this at some ungodly hour and emailed/IM’d or come into my office the next morning to tell me about it. Much the way he did when Modernista launched their unique site: http://www.modernista.com. I know all of us at McKinney would then have had to listen to Clive rant for a few weeks about how the McKinney site needed to be just like theirs. I really miss those rants. 
I miss them because he showed such a passion (either right or wrong) and it was fun to engage with someone like that. It seems there are not that many people in the interactive scene that share his passion anymore and that’s sad. I left McKinney a month after Clive passed away for many reasons, but one of them was because McKinney wasn’t McKinney without him. Of course I miss everyone there that I worked with, but his absence was one of the hardest to grapple with.
I miss you Clive. We all do.
Ride For Clive
On June 6th, Bull City Cycling and McKinney will host the inaugural Clive Sweeney Memorial Bike Ride. “Ride for Clive” is a way to celebrate and pay tribute to a beautiful man and McKinneyite in the way he would have wanted: A fun, community event which will help us reinforce the importance of bike safety.
Event Details
What: Ride for Clive
When: June 6, 2008
Schedule
Registration: 8am on the DPAC green
Opening words from Brenda Sweeney: 8:30am
Ride: 9am (12 mile ride total)
About
This is a free, family-friendly ride, so please bring family and friends to join us. For details and to RSVP please visit www.rideforclive.com.
Whether you are an avid cyclist or not, you can participate.
If you already have plans for June 6th, please know that you can still honor our friend by learning safety tips when encountering a cyclist on the road at www.rideforclive.com.
In Memory of Clive : 1948 – June 3, 2008
On this day, here are some things that Clive’s friends and co-workers have to say when they remember Clive :
“I think about him, and his most excellent judgment and mind, often.”
- Jim R.
“Clive Sweeney was the kindest man. I had the pleasure of working with him for a couple of years and he would always stop by my desk to chat. He was witty, charming and just a good person. He was a friend and I miss him. The world definitely lost one of the ‘good guys’ with his passing.”
- Amanda J.
“I didn’t know Clive that well, but I have two key memories of him:
He was one of the most dedicated exercise enthusiasts I’ve seen. I always saw him at the gym – not chatting or staring at the TV (as I’m want to do), but pushing himself.
He and I both attended a live broadcast of a radio show my wife produces on WUNC over in Bay 7 at ATC. It was on secondary education in North Carolina, and Clive asked an impassioned question about the challenges facing those who really want to get into teaching. He discussed his wife who, as I recall, was a long-time teacher in Canada, had moved to the US wanting to teach, but had a near impossible time qualifying to teach here, despite her experience and resume. We all recognize the problems recruiting enough good teachers (pay, job stability, etc.), but sometimes we overlook how our very systems are getting in the way. I appreciated Clive’s candor and passion about a subject that should matter to us all.”
- Walt B.
“Today, June 3rd, is my birthday. Last year I cried and was so very sad about losing a phenomenal person that I had just begun to know. I also remember thinking how much I hated that I would always connect his tragic loss with my birthday – a day that typically had been about celebration for me. But the more I thought about Clive and the kind of person he was, I just knew this was not a day to be sad but a day to celebrate. So in honor of Clive, this year and every year, I will celebrate. I will celebrate the things that I know were also so extremely important to him….my family, my friends and my passions. Thanks so very much for the amazing gift Clive.”
- Lisa H.
“My first stint at McKinney was in 2006-2007 and back then I was just an acquaintance of Clive’s. Nevertheless, on the few occasions that I did work with him, I used to enjoy just listening to his accent and the way he spoke. You know when you are listening but not really paying attention – I’d do that sometimes when he spoke because I’d be too wrapped up in the accent!”
- Alli S.
“Clive Sweeney was the only man I never minded being inferior to. He never lorded it over you. He just smiled kindly as you panted at the top of the stairs. You were one of the good ones Clivers and you are missed today more so than most. Hope you are enjoying the car free roads up there as you pedal around smiling kindly at god as he tries to keep up.”
- Mark C.
“Clive was one of the most caring and detailed people I have ever known. He never did a project half-way. He always challenged you to make it the best possible. Besides that he was just so interesting. He always had an amazing story to share. I feel blessed by having the opportunity to work with him.”
- Elanah S.
Clive had an excellent dry sense of humor which fit really well with the weirdness of advertising. The last project we worked on together was a corporate battle of the bands site. We decided to plant an easter egg of a small pig frolicking down a hill squealing. It was the kind of thing that only 1% of viewers would ever see, but Clive egged us on to keep tweaking and improving it whenever we had downtime. If we were going to have a pig. It was going to be the most glorious pig possible. We added a Paul Stanley KIss star to the pig’s eye. We improved the mechanics of his frolick-gait and had him randomly jump like a jack terrier. We added a puddle the pig could splash through and on and on. I think Clive even programmed the pigs destination depending on the user’s browser window size. You would think after a few hundred viewings, the pig would grow stale. But, it didn’t. We laughed our asses off.
In a Canadian accent: What do you do for a living? I’m a lawyer, how about you? Me. I tweak the pig.
I miss Clive.
-Tomas A.
The Signs are up!!
It has taken longer than we expected, but finally there are signs up on Pleasant Green Road. Many thanks go to Ray Caldwell who contacted me (Shawn) a few weeks after Clive’s funeral. He is a cyclist and a resident of the area. He contacted the county and explained the situation. They sent out a crew and put up 2 signs. One at each entrance to the road. Unfortunately, we are unable to put up any more signs, but at least there will now be increased awareness of the dangers of that road.
I headed out yesterday (Clive’s birthday) to snap a few picts of the signs. I was reminded of how narrow that road is. As I was driving the speed limit, I was tailgated the entire way by someone who clearly thought I was driving too slow. I know that McKinney is continuing to work with the county to set up bike lanes on that road (and a whole lot more - many thanks to Joni Madison!), so hopefully in the future that road can be made safer.
Since the county picked up the tab for the signs, the money we raised for the sign fund has now become a college fund for Clive’s grandson Clarke Adams. I think Clive would have approved.
Share the Road
Helping to ensure the safety of other riders on Pleasant Green Road is one way in which we’d like to honor our friend Clive.
We’re collecting cash/checks for purchasing yellow share the road signs on Pleasant Green Road in honor of Clive.
Depending on how much money we collect, will determine the number of signs we put up. At the very least, we will have 2 signs up at the site of the accident. Ultimately we hope to put up 12 signs along the 6-mile length of the road.
We’ll collect for the next few weeks and then order them. Should only take about 2-4 weeks to ship. Once they get in we’ll organize a Saturday morning to put them up.
Email me at shawncovely (at) gmail.com for further information.
Thanks everyone!
What I said about my dad
What follows is roughly what I said at the two memorials that were held for my Dad. I couldn’t hope to fully give you an idea of who he was or what he meant to me, but this might help give you a tiny glimpse into my Dad.
And he definitely would have wanted me to try and make people laugh.
Read more
From Shara and Mark
A thoughtful note from friends in St Louis. Both Mark and I had the opportunity to work with Clive at McKinney and we had the pleasure of crossing paths outside of work many times as well. Mark shared Clive’s passion for bikes, and I have fond memories of always bumping into him at the Durham YMCA after work. He was an inspiration to us and we keep him in our thoughts.
g
Mummy told me a week ago that my G went for a bike ride and turned into an angel.
Mummy says that even though I won’t see G anymore, G is actually with me all the time. She says anytime I need him, he’ll be right there with me, helping me and making me strong - all I have to do is think about him.
Mummy says I carry a piece of G in my heart.
I love my G!
– Clarke
From Becky M.
Clive and I worked on a lot of the same projects, but not often together at the same time. In fact, while we chatted occasionally in the office, I connected with him online more often, goofily enough through Twitter. There are two exchanges I remember particularly. The first was an exchange about always somehow working late early in the week. Clive agreed, and said he started working that Sunday with a goal of stopping by midnight. There’s no doubt he meant it; Clive put in more than his share of long nights to pull out a miracle for a McKinney project. The second was a little more surprising to me at the time. I posted a note about enjoying a big ol stack of blueberry pancakes with bacon on a Thursday that I’d taken as PTO. Clive immediately replied back did someone just say blueberry pancakes with maple syrup and bacon?? Hmmmm. This made me laugh, but also seemed a bit random to me; I hadn’t realized what a thing he had for sweets.
Anyway, these exchanges are admittedly a bit mundane, but they are little scraps of what I remember of Clive. His other posts - work-related comments, or notes about movies he saw and loved or hated — were never without a thoughtful point of view. Professionally, Clive was a pleasure to work with because he was nothing if not earnest and very well-informed. I wish that we could all see him roll back into the office with his bike helmet on, bike in tow.
From Jim R.
Clive was and is an inspiration to me. Why? If he wanted to do something, he just did it.
He wanted to know more about twitter — a quick and fast way to blog on the Web and on mobile phones — so he created his own twitter ID and befriended various twitter leaders. When he was assigned to help revamp the McKinney site, he absorbed absolutely everything about all agency sites, and condensed that knowledge down to one singular point of view for what our site should (Clive would probably have said ‘must’) do.
To my mind, his ability to throw himself at projects wholeheartedly showed a level of fearlessness. I know that I will ask myself am I being fearless enough, in my life’s actions big and small, whenever I think of Clive.
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About
This site is set up to honor our friend, Clive Sweeney who died tragically on Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 while doing what he loved most - biking.
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